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Tectonics
RESEARCH ARTICLE Active Deformation of Malawi Rift’s North Basin Hinge Zone
10.1002/2017TC004628
Modulated by Reactivation of Preexisting
Key Points:
• Aeromagnetic data elucidate the
Precambrian Shear Zone Fabric
relationship between the 2009 Mw 6.0 F. Kolawole1,2 , E. A. Atekwana1,3 , D. A. Laó-Dávila1 , M. G. Abdelsalam1 ,
Karonga, Malawi, earthquake surface
ruptures and buried faults P. R. Chindandali4 , J. Salima4 , and L. Kalindekafe5
• Surface rupture locations align with a 1
distinct magnetic lineament in the Boone Pickens School of Geology, Oklahoma State University Main Campus, Stillwater, OK, USA, 2Now at the ConocoPhillips
basement School of Geology and Geophysics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA, 3Now at the Department of Geological
• Strain accommodation in the North Sciences, College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA, 4Geological Survey Department
Basin hinge zone is modulated by
of Malawi, Zomba, Malawi, 5Department of Earth Sciences, Malawi University of Science and Technology, Limbe, Malawi
reactivation of the underlying
Precambrian shear zone fabric
Abstract We integrated temporal aeromagnetic data and recent earthquake data to address the
Supporting Information: long-standing question on the role of preexisting Precambrian structures in modulating strain
• Supporting Information S1 accommodation and subsequent ruptures leading to seismic events within the East African Rift System.
• Figure S1
• Figure S2
We used aeromagnetic data to elucidate the relationship between the locations of the 2009 Mw 6.0
• Figure S3 Karonga, Malawi, earthquake surface ruptures and buried basement faults along the hinge zone of the
• Data Set S1 half-graben comprising the North Basin of the Malawi Rift. Through the application of derivative filters
• Data Set S2
• Data Set S3
and depth-to-magnetic-source modeling, we identified and constrained the trend of the Precambrian
• Data Set S4 metamorphic fabrics and correlated them to the three-dimensional structure of buried basement faults.
• Data Set S5 Our results reveal an unprecedented detail of the basement fabric dominated by high-frequency WNW to
• Data Set S6
• Data Set S7
NW trending magnetic lineaments associated with the Precambrian Mughese Shear Zone fabric. The
• Data Set S8 high-frequency magnetic lineaments are superimposed by lower frequency NNW trending magnetic
• Data Set S9 lineaments associated with possible Cenozoic faults. Surface ruptures associated with the 2009 Mw 6.0
• Data Set S10
• Data Set S11
Karonga earthquake swarm aligned with one of the NNW-trending magnetic lineaments defining a
normal fault that is characterized by right-stepping segments along its northern half and coalesced
Correspondence to: segments on its southern half. Fault geometries, regional kinematics, and spatial distribution of seismicity
E. A. Atekwana, suggest that seismogenic faults reactivated the basement fabric found along the half-graben hinge zone.
atekwana@udel.edu
We suggest that focusing of strain accommodation and seismicity along the half-graben hinge zone is
facilitated and modulated by the presence of the basement fabric.
Citation:
Kolawole, F., Atekwana, E. A.,
Laó-Dávila, D. A., Abdelsalam, M. G.,
Chindandali, P. R., Salima, J., & 1. Introduction
Kalindekafe, L. (2018). Active deforma-
tion of Malawi Rift’s North Basin hinge The contributions of faulting and magmatism to strain accommodation within weakly extended, magma-
zone modulated by reactivation of pre- poor youthful continental rifts remain poorly understood as there are limited locations worldwide where
existing Precambrian shear zone fabric.
these processes can be actively documented. The East African Rift System (EARS; Figure 1a) is the largest
Tectonics, 37. https://doi.org/10.1002/
2017TC004628 seismically active rift system on Earth in which deep seismicity is localized along or near major border faults,
while relatively shallower seismicity is mostly associated with strain localization within the rift axis (Craig et al.,
Received 17 APR 2017 2011; Kearey et al., 2009). Absence of basinward migration of faulting and an overall extension localization on
Accepted 26 JAN 2018
faults established in the early stage of rifting has been observed in a part of the EARS (McCartney & Scholz,
Accepted article online 14 FEB 2018
2016). However, numerous studies have shown that extension in the early stage of rifting is accommodated
by displacement along border faults. As rifts evolve, extension is transferred to the hanging wall, often facili-
tated by diking and magma intrusion (e.g., Calais et al., 2008; Ebinger & Casey, 2001; Goldsworthy & Jackson,
2001; Wright et al., 2006). It has been shown that the localization of brittle deformation within the border fault
hanging wall is not entirely controlled by the flexure of the hanging wall but can be assisted by intrusion and
release of magmatic volatiles into the hanging wall (Muirhead et al., 2016). Located within the southern
segment of the EARS, the North Basin of the Malawi Rift (Figure 1b) is a rift in which basinward migration
of tectonic activity has been proposed (Biggs et al., 2010).
On a continental scale, studies have documented the influence of preexisting structures associated with
©2018. American Geophysical Union.
Precambrian orogenic belts in facilitating localization of extension during the initiation of rifting in different
All Rights Reserved. segments of the EARS (Katumwehe et al., 2015; Kinabo et al., 2007, 2008; Leseane et al., 2015; Modisi et al.,

KOLAWOLE ET AL. 1
 Tectonics 10.1002/2017TC004628

Figure 1. (a) Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) digital elevation model (DEM) of eastern Africa, showing the loca-
tion of the Malawi Rift (MR) within the East African Rift System (EARS). ASZ = Aswa Shear Zone, MER = Main Ethiopian
Rift, ORZ = Okavango Rift Zone, RR = Rukwa Rift, TC = Tanzania Craton. (b) SRTM DEM showing different segments of the
Malawi Rift. (c) Schematic diagrams of a graben and half-graben. BF = Border fault, IBF = Intrabasin fault, RR = Relay ramp.
(d) Schematic diagram of a cross section across a half-graben, showing the overall structural architecture of a typical
half-graben. For the North Basin, the Livingstone Fault represents the main border fault.

2000; Ring, 1994; Versfelt & Rosendahl, 1989; Wheeler & Karson, 1989). On a basin scale, studies have also
highlighted the role of preexisting structures in determining the compartmentalization and internal
structural architecture of individual rift basins (e.g., E. J. Mortimer et al., 2016; Phillips et al., 2016). Most
studies that investigated the influence of preexisting metamorphic basement structures (here referred to
as basement fabric) on rift development relied on kinematic analysis of geologic field data (e.g., Beacom
et al., 2001; Ring, 1994; Ring et al., 2005), interpretation of remote sensing data (e.g., Laó-Dávila et al.,
2015), interpretation of two-dimensional crustal-scale active-source seismic data (e.g., Wilson et al., 2010),
three-dimensional active-source seismic data (e.g., Phillips et al., 2016), fault plane solutions from passive
seismic data (e.g., Hussein et al., 2006), and numerical and analogue modeling (e.g., Corti et al., 2007;

KOLAWOLE ET AL. 2
 Tectonics 10.1002/2017TC004628

Figure 2. 742 (red-green-blue) Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) image draped onto Shuttle Radar Topography Mission
(SRTM) digital elevation model (DEM) of northern Malawi showing major rift-related morpho-tectonic features and
location of fault plane solutions and centroid depths of Mw ≥ 4.9 earthquakes associated with the December 2009 Karonga
earthquake swarm. The earthquake data are from Biggs et al. (2010) and Global Centroid Moment Tensor database. The
white solid open polygon represents the area covered by aeromagnetic data in Figures 4 and 5. Inset: map of the North
Basin showing the aerial coverage of previously published seismic data (blue polygon; Mortimer et al., 2007) relative to
aeromagnetic data coverage (red polygon; this study).

Morley et al., 2004). While these approaches produced significant results, recent work also highlighted the
importance of high-resolution aeromagnetic data in understanding the complexity of the influence of
basement fabric in the evolution of continental rifts including their nucleation, segmentation, and
termination (e.g., Katumwehe et al., 2015). Further, the role of basement fabric in modulating intraplate
seismicity has been observed in segments of the Precambrian structures in eastern Africa. For example,
earthquakes in South Sudan have been associated with reactivation of the Precambrian Aswa Shear Zone

KOLAWOLE ET AL. 3
 Tectonics 10.1002/2017TC004628

(Figure 1a; Moussa, 2008). Nonetheless, the continual role of basement fabric in shaping the architecture of
rift systems and subsequent ruptures leading to seismic events has not been fully understood.
The EARS, especially its Western Branch, is predominantly made-up of half-graben basins linked by step-
over transfer zones (e.g., Chorowicz, 2005; Rosendahl, 1987). The half-grabens are typically 20–50 km wide
with hanging wall blocks deformed by normal faults that are both synthetic and antithetic to a single mas-
ter border fault (e.g., Bott, 1997; Rosendahl, 1987; Rosendahl et al., 1986). The architecture of a half-graben
typically consists of a border fault zone, the hanging wall zone, and the hinge zone (Figures 1c and 1d;
e.g., McCartney & Scholz, 2016; Morley, 1995; Rosendahl et al., 1986). The border fault zone refers to the
region around the deepest side of the half-graben, where depocenters containing up to several kilometers
of sediment thickness lie adjacent to the master border fault (e.g., Wheeler & Karson, 1989; Withjack et al.,
2002). The hanging wall zone represents the rift floor, which lies between the border fault zone and the
hinge zone. The hinge zone is the area of greatest curvature in the hanging wall, which is commonly
assumed to have developed passively as a result of crustal flexure in response to vertical displacements
along the master border fault.
In this study, we show that the distribution of brittle strain along the hinge zones of weakly extended magma-
poor half grabens is not entirely caused by crustal flexure but can be facilitated and modulated by basement
fabric. The recent 2009 Karonga earthquake swarm and the 2014 Karonga earthquake sequence in northern
Malawi Rift, a sign of active deformation, were localized along the hinge zone of the half-graben comprising
the North Basin of the Malawi Rift (here referred to as half-graben hinge zone) (Figures 1b and 2; Biggs et al.,
2010; Oliva et al., 2016). These seismic events allow us to address the persistent question of whether and how
basement fabric modulate strain accommodation and seismicity in weakly extended, magma-poor continen-
tal rifts, particularly in areas where it has been proposed that reactivation of older structures is not occurring
(Fagereng, 2013). Although there is lack of subsurface data (e.g., in the form of seismic data; Figure 2, inset)
along the on-shore part of the half-graben hinge zone, however, the availability of temporal aeromagnetic
data and their effectiveness in imaging basement fabric and basement faults provide an unprecedented view
of the geological architecture of the half-graben hinge zone and corroborate previous seismic interpretation
of faults along the hinge zone (Figure 3a).
We use derivative filters to enhance the magnetic anomalies of the basement fabric and faults, which
revealed the detailed geometry of the Precambrian Mughese Shear Zone (MSZ) and younger faults, possibly
Cenozoic in age. We determine the spatial correlation between basement fabric, basement faults, and the
locations of the 2009 Karonga earthquake surface ruptures in order to assess the role of basement fabric in
facilitating fault ruptures that trigger moderate magnitude earthquakes. Here we show that the deformation
of the half-graben hinge zone is actively modulated by reactivation of the basement fabric.

2. Recent Earthquakes in Northern Malawi Rift

2.1. The 2009 Karonga Earthquake Swarm
The Karonga area, located in the North Basin of the Malawi Rift, was affected by multiple episodes of Mw 4.9–
6.0 earthquakes between 6 and 19 December 2009 (Figure 2). The series of earthquakes damaged thousands
of houses and resulted in several fatalities (Biggs et al., 2010). Additional series of Mb ≤ 4.6 earthquakes were
recorded until one month after the larger events (Hamiel et al., 2012). The Mw ≥ 4.9 earthquakes, occurring at
<10 km focal depths, were accompanied by coseismic surface ruptures of 35–43 cm vertical displacements
(Hamiel et al., 2012; Macheyeki et al., 2015) and liquefaction-related sand blows within the surficial coastal
plain sediments. Differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar (DInSAR) modeling of the surface defor-
mation associated with the coseismic events suggests that the earthquakes were not associated with mag-
matic emplacement (Biggs et al., 2010). Instead, these studies found that the earthquake sequence was
associated with the rupture of a shallow single NNW-SSE striking and SW dipping normal fault (Biggs et al.,
2010; Hamiel et al., 2012; Macheyeki et al., 2015) associated with active deformation of the half-graben hinge
zone. Hamiel et al. (2012) documented a cumulative surface rupture length of 18 km, while Macheyeki et al.
(2015) estimated a total rupture length of 14.3 km. Macheyeki et al. (2015) suggested that the fault that rup-
tured during the earthquake has three segments with observed ~1.6 km long along-strike separation
between them. Since the ruptured fault had no known surface expression before the earthquake swarm,
its origin is unknown. It is also not clear if the rupture created a new fault or occurred on a preexisting fault.

KOLAWOLE ET AL. 4
 Tectonics 10.1002/2017TC004628

Figure 3. (a) Geological map of the North Basin of the Malawi Rift modified after Wheeler and Karson (1989), Biggs et al. (2010), and Mortimer et al. (2007).
MSZ = Mughese Shear Zone (Precambrian), KF = Karonga fault. (b and c) Field photographs of the basement fabric in the outcrops of the MSZ at a location
~10 km west of the town of Karonga, along M26 road (red asterisk in Figure 3a). Figure c inset is a stereonet (from Dawson et al., 2018) showing orientation and steep
dips of foliation and minor shear zones within the MSZ. The black stars represent locations of coseismic surface ruptures.

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 Tectonics 10.1002/2017TC004628

2.2. The 2014 Karonga Earthquake Sequence

Between 31 December 2014 and 1 January 2015, three Mw 5.1 seismic events were recorded by the SEGMeNT
(Study of Extension and maGmatism in Malawi aNd Tanzania) array (Oliva et al., 2016). The earthquake epi-
centers were located within the Mwenitete-Kaporo area (~15 km north of the town of Karonga), with hypo-
central locations at 5–10 km depths. The fault plane solutions for the earthquake sequence suggest normal
faulting on N-S and NNW striking planes.

3. Geological and Tectonic Setting

3.1. The Malawi Rift
The magma-poor Malawi Rift can be divided into three segments (Figure 1b; Carter & Bennett, 1973; Ebinger
et al., 1989; Laó-Dávila et al., 2015; Ring, 1994): (1) the northern segment that consists of the North Basin (also
known as the Karonga Basin), the Usisya Basin, Mbamba Basin, and the Bandwe Basin. The North Basin has a
SW dipping border fault, and the basin is tilted to the northeast. The Usisya Basin has an east dipping border
fault and the basin tilts to the west. The Mbamba Basin has a west dipping border fault and the basin tilts to
the east, and the Bandwe Basin has an east dipping border fault while the basin tilts to the west. (2) The cen-
tral segment consisting of the Metangula and Mtakataka Basins have poorly developed border faults that are
mostly west dipping faults. Both basins are tilted to the east. (3) The southern segment of the rift consists of a
bifurcated and southward shallowing graben system that terminates at the WNW-ESE trending Shire Graben.
3.2. The North Basin
The North Basin is a typical half-graben, bound on the east by the 100 km long, NW striking and steeply (60°)
SW dipping Livingstone border fault (E. Mortimer et al., 2016; Wheeler & Karson, 1989; Figures 2 and 3a). The
hanging wall block of the fault has been deformed by numerous NW striking ~55° west dipping intrabasin
normal faults found under Lake Malawi (Figure 3a; Mortimer et al., 2007). Most of these intrabasin normal
faults are synthetic to the Livingstone Fault (Mortimer et al., 2007; Ring, 1994). The North Basin is filled with
Neogene-Quaternary Chiwondo and Chitimwe lacustrine sedimentary rocks, which in turn are covered by
coastal plain alluvial sediments (Ring, 1994; Schrenk et al., 1993). The Quaternary alluvial sediments are com-
posed of sandy clays, terrace sands, and gravels (Macheyeki et al., 2015).
The kinematic history of the North Basin has been attributed to an initial ENE-WSW directed orthogonal
extension during which the development and segmentation of the Livingstone border fault occurred, as well
as the development of NW trending hanging wall normal faults (Figures 1c and 1d) within the basin
(Mortimer et al., 2007; Ring, 1994). At 500–400 Ka, tectonic extension rotated into a WNW-ESE direction, such
that former intrabasin dip-slip faults were reactivated as oblique dextral strike-slip faults and associated
flower structures (Mortimer et al., 2007; Ring, 1994). The Livingstone Fault, which borders the North Basin
in the east (Figures 2 and 3a), originated as a reactivation of Precambrian ductile shear zones within the
Ubendian Belt and has accommodated at least 4 km of vertical displacement (Wheeler & Karson, 1989). On
the half-graben hinge zone, the Precambrian rocks of the MSZ are truncated by the N-S trending and east
dipping Karonga Fault, juxtaposing the Precambrian rocks against the Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary
rocks of the basin. The Karonga Fault, which is one of the most dominant morpho-structural features on
the half-graben hinge zone (Laó-Dávila et al., 2015), outcrops of Late Carboniferous-Early Jurassic sedimen-
tary rocks, suggesting that the fault predates Cenozoic rifting in northern Malawi. Using Global Positioning
System, earthquake slip vectors, and a rigid plate model, Stamps et al. (2008) estimated a rift opening rate
of 3.8 mm/year, while Saria et al. (2014) estimated 2.2 mm/year, and an E-W present-day tectonic extension
direction for the North Basin of the Malawi Rift.
3.3. Pre-Malawi Rift Formations
The North Basin is underlain by Paleoproterozoic amphibolite, grey gneisses, and granites formed during the
Ubendian orogeny (1,600 Ma) (Ring et al., 2002), which were later deformed by the ~30–50 km wide NW
trending MSZ in the Neoproterozoic (Figure 3a). The Ubendian orogenic belt is composed of different accre-
tionary terranes bounded by steep shear zones (Delvaux et al., 2012), among which the MSZ forms the
boundary between the Mbozi Terrane to the north and the Ufipa Terrane to the south (Daly, 1988). The shear
zone developed during the Neoproterozoic-Early Paleozoic Pan African orogeny (550 ± 100 Ma) in which
crustal shortening along the southern boundary of the Ubendian Belt produced subvertical sinistral shear

KOLAWOLE ET AL. 6
 Tectonics 10.1002/2017TC004628

zones with the formation of well-developed fabric that were distributed throughout the crust (Ring et al.,
2002). The shear zone is characterized by steeply dipping (60°–85°) mylonitic fabric (Ring, 1994; Figures 3b
and 3c and 3c, inset) that contains prominent stretching lineation. The shear zone is also characterized
by the presence of shear zone-parallel isoclinal intrafolial folds overprinting earlier structures in the
Paleoproterozoic rocks (Ring, 1993; Ring et al., 2002).
Patches of Permo-Triassic (Karoo) sedimentary rocks crop out onshore along the Karonga Fault in the western
part of the half-graben hinge zone (Figure 3a). The Karoo sedimentary rocks are composed of volcano-
sedimentary successions deposited within NE- to NNE and north trending grabens, and these are intruded
by NE striking doleritic dikes. The regional extension direction during the Karoo is controversial. Based on
the fault trends within the Zambezi Rift (south of Malawi Rift), an ENE-WSW directed extension has been
inferred (Daly et al., 1989); while a NW-SE directed extension due to the dominant NE to NNE strike of the
Karoo rifts and associated doleritic dikes has also been suggested (Castaing, 1991). In the Early Cretaceous,
NE directed extension in the North Basin area resulted in the deposition of fossiliferous red, fluviatile sand-
stone, and siltstones referred to as the “Dinosaur Beds” (Jacobs et al., 1990; Ring, 1994).

4. Data and Methods

In this study, we analyzed preearthquake and postearthquake aeromagnetic data, spatial location of surface
ruptures and sand blows (both here referred to as surface ruptures), and earthquake epicenter locations. A
total of 396 surface rupture location coordinates (Macheyeki et al., 2015) and eight (8) surface rupture loca-
tions (Hamiel et al., 2012) along with 229 epicenter location coordinates of earthquakes associated with
the 2009 Karonga earthquake swarm (Seismological Bulletin of Malawi, 2015) were used in this study.
4.1. Aeromagnetic Data
The preearthquake aeromagnetic data covering the half-graben hinge zone used in this study were acquired
in 1984–1985, with 120 m flight elevation along NE-SW lines with spacing of 1 km and a tie-line spacing of
10 km. The postearthquake aeromagnetic data used in this study was acquired in 2013 with a flight elevation
of 80 m along NE-SW lines with spacing of 250 m. The tie lines were oriented NW-SE and spaced 5 km apart.
The preearthquake and postearthquake residual magnetic field data were first reduced to the magnetic pole
(RTP) (Arkani-Hamed, 1988; Baranov, 1957) in order to remove the skewness of the anomalies and correctly
position magnetic anomalies directly over their sources, thereby making it possible to correlate the anoma-
lies with geological information. To compare the preearthquake and postearthquake aeromagnetic maps, we
upward continued the 2013 map to 120 m (flight elevation of the 1984–1985 map); however, due to the dif-
ference in line spacing, the 2013 data have a higher resolution (62.5 m) than the 1984–1985 data (250 m).
Edge-enhancement directional filters such as the horizontal gradient (HG) magnitude, vertical (Dz), and tilt-
angle derivative filters were applied to the RTP aeromagnetic grids in order to enhance shallow subsurface
anomalies and highlight structural features (Ma et al., 2012). In order to better delineate faults that have sur-
ficial expression in the study area, we draped the filtered aeromagnetic maps on hillshade topographic map
of 90 m spatial resolution Shuttle Radar Topography Mission digital elevation model (Figure 4). Since there is
no report of volcanic sediments or information on remanent magnetization along the half-graben hinge
zone, we assume that magnetization within the study area is largely by induction and that the crystalline
basement is the dominant magnetic source.
According to Miller and Singh (1994) and Salem et al. (2007), the first-order vertical derivative, first-order HG,
and tilt-angle derivative of the RTP aeromagnetic grid enhance the magnetic signatures of shallow crustal
structures. The vertical derivative (Dz) estimates the rate of change of total magnetic intensity in the vertical
direction. Total horizontal derivative (HG magnitude) estimates the rate of change of total magnetic intensity
in the horizontal-X and horizontal-Y directions. The horizontal-X derivative (Dx) operator estimates the rate of
change of total magnetic intensity in the E-W direction, thus enhancing structures that are oriented N-S or
subparallel to the N-S. The horizontal-Y derivative (Dy) operator estimates the rate of change of total
magnetic intensity in the N-S direction, thus enhancing structures that are oriented E-W or subparallel to
the E-W. The tilt-angle derivative is essentially a ratio of the vertical derivative to the total horizontal deriva-
tive, thus estimating the magnitude of the overall rate of change of total magnetic intensity (in all directions).
The tilt-angle derivative is one of the most effective edge-detection filters because it normalizes all the edges
in a data set, such that edges that are subtle and less evident in the horizontal and vertical derivative maps

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 Tectonics 10.1002/2017TC004628

Figure 4. First vertical derivative of the RTP grid of the 2013 aeromagnetic map of Karonga-Chilumba area draped onto
Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) digital elevation model (DEM) showing the relationship between surface
morphology and structures in the basement. The dotted white lines represent faults interpreted from seismic data and
SRTM (reported in previously published maps, e.g., Figure 3a; Mortimer et al., 2007). LF = Lupaso Fault, KPF = Kaporo Fault,
KF = Karonga Fault, KTF = Katesula Fault, MSZ = Mughese Shear Zone, and SMF = St. Mary Fault.

are well enhanced in the tilt-angle derivative map. Since magnetic lineaments representing faults are well
imaged on vertical (Kinabo et al., 2007, 2008) and tilt-angle derivative maps, we delineate the variations in
the along-strike and across-strike geometry of magnetic lineaments that represent faults by applying Dx
and Dy directional filters to the vertical and tilt-angle derivative maps depending on the orientation of the
target faults (Cooper & Cowan, 2006). Furthermore, we enhanced the subtle normalized lineaments
observed in the tilt-angle derivative map (low amplitude, high frequency, and short wavelength gradients)
by applying 45° directional gradient to the tilt-angle derivative grid.
Grauch and Hudson (2007, 2011) presented simple models describing the various magnetic expressions of
normal faults that juxtapose bodies of contrasting magnetic susceptibilities against one another. In this
paper, we interpret basement-rooted normal faults along the half-graben hinge zone in terms of the
Grauch and Hudson (2007, 2011) thin-thick layers variation-2 model, which shows that a normal fault juxta-
posing a highly magnetized basement against an overlying material of lower magnetic susceptibility is char-
acterized by a magnetic-high anomaly above the footwall and a magnetic-low above the hanging wall.

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 Tectonics 10.1002/2017TC004628

Although it is difficult to determine the sense of displacement and amount of fault throw from aeromagnetic
anomalies (Grauch & Hudson, 2007), this model shows that the magnetic anomaly (RTP-total magnetic inten-
sity [TMI]) above the fault is steepest in the direction of fault dip and that buried faults are typically charac-
terized by double-peak HG magnitude.
We delineate the edges of buried basement faults by the 0° tilt-angle derivative contour (Salem et al., 2007).
In map view, the 0° tilt-angle contour typically delineates the footwall cutoff of a normal fault and wraps
around the top of the footwall block (e.g., Fairhead et al., 2010). The determination of the segment of the con-
tour that correspond to the actual footwall cutoff edge is based upon other sources of dip-direction informa-
tion (e.g., field data, seismological data, and geometry of the RTP-TMI on opposite sides of the anomaly)
related to the target structure. Also, we observe that the 0° tilt-angle contour roughly corresponds to the
boundary between high and low gradients along the trend of the magnetic lineaments on other derivative
maps (e.g., Dz and Dy). Therefore, on our derivative maps (excluding the tilt-angle derivative), we interpret
the approximate trace of faults along the edge of target magnetic lineaments.
We estimated depths to the top of the magnetic sources (i.e., basement) using the Source Parameter Imaging
(SPI) method (Smith et al., 1998; Smith & Salem, 2005). Depth calculations from aeromagnetic data have an
accuracy of ±20% (Gay, 2009). Our basement depth estimates at the edge of buried structures were also
consistent with estimates from the tilt-depth method of Salem et al. (2007). We estimated the dip angle of
the earthquake ruptured fault from the angular relationship between the locations of the 0° tilt-angle at
the basement level (at depth) and the coseismic fault ruptures at the ground surface and compare our result
with previously published estimates from Biggs et al. (2010) and Hamiel et al. (2012). We produce a
two-dimensional aeromagnetic geological section from the depth-to-basement analysis of the 2013 high-
resolution magnetic data using the SPI technique, tilt-angle derivative, and surface topography estimates
from the Near-Global 1-arcsecond Shuttle Radar Topography Mission digital elevation model data (30 m
spatial resolution). For areas with thick sedimentary cover, we subset the aeromagnetic map within such
areas (ensuring that large magnetic anomalies are not included in the subset) and applied the tilt-angle
and directional derivative filters in order to enhance the signals of subtle basement fabric obscured by the
thick sedimentary cover and presence of large magnetic anomalies in the vicinity.

5. Results
5.1. Filtered Aeromagnetic Maps
The first-order vertical derivatives of the 1984–1985 and 2013 RTP aeromagnetic data reveal details of the
crystalline basement fabric related to the MSZ, which are represented by high-frequency, short wavelength
WNW-NW trending lineaments of high and low magnetic gradients, especially apparent northwest and
southwest of Karonga town (“MSZ” in Figures 4 and S1a and S1b). The lineaments are also visible in the north,
west, and southwest of the town of Kaporo (Figure 4). However, around the town of Karonga, the high-
frequency aeromagnetic lineaments are obscured by lower frequency, longer wavelength NNW trending
magnetic anomalies (Figure 4). Northwest of the town of Karonga, within the Ruwenya-Misuku Mountains,
the high-frequency MSZ magnetic fabric defines a WNW trending (125°) ~22 km wide zone, that is truncated
by a N-S trending curvilinear magnetic discontinuity compares very well with the location and geometry of
the Karonga Fault in previously published geologic map of the area (KF in Figure 3a). We observe that numer-
ous normal faults exposed in the basement outcrops around the Karonga area (Figure 3a) coincide with these
NNW trending lower frequency, longer wavelength magnetic lineaments. For example, the west dipping nor-
mal faults bounding Yembe Hill (just west of the town of Kaporo) and Mbiri Hill (at Chilumba) to the west
(Figure 4). Therefore, we interpret the lower frequency, longer wavelength magnetic gradients to represent
buried and subaerial basement-rooted normal faults bounding asymmetrical grabens and half-grabens filled
with sedimentary rocks.
In Figures S2a–S2d, we show various characteristics of these buried faults in Karonga area as enhanced by
different derivative filters. The RTP-total magnetic intensity (RTP-TMI) map (Figure S2a) shows the long-
wavelength, low-frequency character of the buried faults (Kaporo Fault [KPF], St. Mary Fault [SMF], Katesula
Fault [KTF], and Lupaso Fault [LF]), as well as the short-wavelength, high-frequency of the MSZ-related mag-
netic lineaments. The horizontal-Y derivative (Dy) of the RTP-TMI map (Figure S2b) reveals the ~E-W disconti-
nuities along the strike of each of the ~N-S striking lineaments (i.e., segmentation and changes in the strike of

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 Tectonics 10.1002/2017TC004628

the lineaments). The vertical derivative (Dz) map also clearly reveals
the geometry of the magnetic lineaments representing the faults
(Figure S2c). Although the tilt-angle derivative shows the geometry of
the edge of the faults (0° tilt-angle contour; Figure S2d), for subaerial
faults that intersect high-amplitude magnetic fabric in exposed base-
ment rocks (e.g., the Karonga Fault, KF), the tilt-angle contour of the fault
trace is intermittently deflected by that of the interfering basement
magnetic fabric along-strike of the fault. From the filtered aeromagnetic
maps, we find five major normal faults buried beneath rift sediments
along the half-graben hinge zone and these are named SMF, KPF, KTF,
LF, and Mbiri Fault (MF) (Figures 4 and S1, S2, and S3). The LF and KTF
extend in a northwest direction for ~19 km, SMF for 37 km, and KPF
for 36 km. The SMF, LF, KTF, and MF are within the coastal plain sedi-
ments, whereas the KPF is offshore beneath Lake Malawi (Figure 4).
The 62 km long MF, for the most part, is buried beneath the coastal plain
sediments but crops out in the town of Chilumba where it bounds the
Mbiri Hill in the west. Only the northernmost segment of the SMF
outcrops west of the town of Kaporo where it bounds the Yembe Hill
in the west (Figure 4).
Within the basin fill on the hanging walls of the SMF and KPF, we
observe low-amplitude, high-frequency, short wavelength magnetic
lineaments enhanced on the tilt-angle derivative map due to the nor-
malizing effect of the tilt-angle derivative operator (Figure 5a; white
arrows in Figure 5b). In order to further enhance the edges associated
with these “suppressed” lineaments (low amplitude) and better observe
their geometrical trends, we first subset out the tilt-angle derivative grid
covering the target area, ensuring that we avoid the higher amplitude
anomalies associated with exposed basement rocks (areas west of
Karonga Fault) and buried basement-rooted normal faults (e.g., KPF,
KTF, and the southern segment of the SMF). Following this, we applied
a directional derivative (45° directional gradient) to the subset map to
enhance the edges associated with the “suppressed” lineaments. We
then overlaid the filtered subset on the tilt-angle derivative using trans-
parency (Figure 5c). The resultant map (Figure 5c) reveals the overall
geometry of the suppressed lineaments. The filtered map shows that
the suppressed lineaments (e.g., see black arrows in Figure 5c) align with
the NW trending MSZ magnetic fabric in the exposed basement north-
west of the town of Karonga (in the Ruwenya-Misuku Mountains).
Overall, we observe that the MSZ magnetic lineaments strike WNW

Figure 5. (a) Tilt-angle derivative of the RTP 2013 aeromagnetic TMI data.
SMF = St. Mary Fault, KPF = Kaporo Fault. The black circles represent the loca-
tion of surface ruptures; the black solid lines represent 0° contour of the tilt-angle
derivative which represents the edge of the normal faults (e.g., SMF and KPF).
(b) A close-up of Figure 5a showing suppressed magnetic lineaments that are
characterized by low-amplitude, high-frequency, short wavelength magnetic
lineaments (white arrows point at some of the lineaments). (c) Tilt-angle deriva-
tive (in Figure 5b) overlain with 45° directional gradient of the tilt-angle using
transparency (area to the east of the white dotted polygon). It is not surprising
that north of the town of Karonga, the MSZ fabric is subtly imaged in Figure 5c as
the fault offsets are probably not large (Figure 9) and within magnetic basement
in contrast to the more rift parallel southern segments of the SMF and KPF,
which have accommodated larger offset in the magnetic basement and magne-
tite poor sedimentary rocks (Figure 8). The earthquake fault plane solutions in
Figure 5c are from Oliva et al. (2016).

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Figure 6. Horizontal-X derivative of the vertical derivative of the 2013 aeromagnetic grid covering the Karonga area show-
ing enhanced along-strike geometry of the ruptured St. Mary Fault (SMF) and other buried faults in the area including
Kaporo Fault (KPF), Katesula Fault (KTF), and Lupaso Fault (LF). Zone-1: Fault interpretation shows that the southern
segment of SMF is dominated by coalesced fault segments. Zone-2: North of the town of Karonga, the SMF is characterized
by overlapping segments separated by ~1 km wide relay ramp. Also shown are the earthquake surface ruptures bridging
this relay ramp (black circles). Zone-3: Farther north, the SMF is characterized by weakly resolved, subtle NW aeromagnetic
trends (dotted lines), not corresponding to specific faults, in contrast to the southern segments where fault-related features
are well resolved (solid lines). Therefore, in the poorly resolved northern segments, we rely on fault interpretation from
Dy of the vertical derivative (Figure S1b).

(125°) northwest of the town of Karonga, but gradually rotates into a NNW (149°) strike northeast and east of
the town (Figure 5b). In addition, the overall trend of the enhanced “suppressed lineaments” to north and east
of the town of Karonga is consistent with the trend of the magnetic lineaments of the MSZ outcrops southwest
of the town of Karonga (MSZ in Figures S3a and S3b). The above observations suggest that the suppressed
magnetic lineaments represent the continuation of the trend of the MSZ-related magnetic lineaments in the
basement beneath the asymmetrical grabens and half-grabens. South of the Karonga area and all the way to

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the town of Chilumba, the MSZ-related magnetic lineaments change to

NW (135°) trend (shown by white arrows in Figures S1a and S1b).
Although the segmentation (side-stepping and strike-deflection char-
acteristics) of fault-related lineaments is readily observable on the
vertical derivative maps, we used the directional derivatives of the
vertical derivative to enhance the subtle along-strike and across-strike
discontinuities. Figure 6 illustrates the across-strike discontinuities
(side-stepping characteristics) along some of the identified basement-
rooted normal faults, revealed by the application of horizontal-X deri-
vative (Dx) filter to the vertical derivative of the 2013 aeromagnetic
data. We also observe distinct changes in the fault strike along the
northern segment of the SMF in the horizontal-Y derivative of the
RTP-TMI (Dy) (black arrows in Figure S2b) and tilt-angle derivative
(black arrows in Figure S2d).
5.2. Distribution of Earthquake Surface Ruptures
A plot of the locations of the 2009 Karonga earthquake surface rup-
tures indicates an NNW trending zone, which extend over a total
length of 16.4 km (Figures S3a and S3b). The mapped surface rupture
locations follow the SMF magnetic lineament; however, the surface
ruptures only cover about half the length of the lineament. The SMF
magnetic lineament is clearly observable on both the 1984–1985
and 2013 aeromagnetic data.
5.3. Geological Cross Section
The edges of basement structures (0° tilt-angle contour) are revealed
by the tilt-angle derivative of the aeromagnetic grid (Figures S2d), while
the SPI maps (Figures 7a and 7b) show the estimate of depth to mag-
netic source (crystalline basement) within the sedimentary basin. We
combine these basement models with surface topography to generate
two aeromagnetic geological sections across mapped buried faults
along the half-graben hinge zone (cross sections A0 -B0 -C0 -D0 in
Figures 8a–8d and E0 -F0 in Figures 9a–9d). Here the magnetic-high
RTP-TMI anomalies over the faults are steeper to the west than to the
east (Figures 8b and 9b). Along the SMF, the basement footwall cutoff
is located at 508 m (in the south; Figure 8d) and 413 m (in the north;
Figure 9d) depths beneath the Cenozoic lacustrine sediments.
Whereas, along the KPF, the footwall cutoff is at 1,017 m (in the south;
Figure 8d) and 748 m (in the north; Figure 9d) depths. Along the SMF
and KPF, depth-to-basement generally decreases northward. The
Figure 7. (a) Depth-to-basement map of Mwenitete-Karonga area calculated
depth-to-basement models show distinct topographic highs immedi-
using the Source Parameter Imaging (SPI) technique, overlain with surface
rupture locations (black circles). The bold contours represent the 0° tilt-angle ately east of the faults. Based on the angular relationship between the
contour (representing the edge of the basement faults). The white dotted locations of the 0° tilt-angle (at the basement level) and coseismic fault
lines represent transects for cross sections A0 -B0 -C0 -D0 and E0 -F0 in Figures 8 ruptures at the ground surface, we interpret a 50° dip angle for the SMF
and 9. (b) Depth-to-basement map of Karonga area (area in white box in (along section A0 -B0 -C0 -D0 ; Figure 8d). On the sensitivity of our dip angle
Figure 7a) showing the location of the 0° tilt-angle contour relative to the
estimate for the SMF, an accuracy of ±20% (Gay, 2009) for its 508 m foot-
location of surface ruptures along-strike of the SMF.
wall cutoff depth (using the SPI technique; Figure 8c) gives a range of
44°–55° dip angles. This estimate is consistent with previously published
dip estimates from fault plane solutions and DInSAR analyses of coseismic events (37°–46° from Biggs et al.,
2010, and 41° from Hamiel et al., 2012). In the absence of information on possible coseismic ruptures along
the KPF (buried beneath the lake), we infer the same dip angle as the SMF. Also, the cross sections show a
general eastward (basinward) decrease in basement elevation (Figures 8d and 9d) similar to previously pub-
lished basement models of the North Basin (Biggs et al., 2010; Mortimer et al., 2007); we suggest that the
depth-to-basement estimates are reliable within an accuracy of ±20%.

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Figure 8. (a) Surface elevation, (b) reduced-to-the-pole total magnetic intensity (RTP-TMI) and tilt-angle derivative (RTP
Tilt), and (c) depth to magnetic basement, along cross-section A0 -B0 -C0 -D0 (see Figure 7a for location). (d) Aeromagnetic
geological cross section along section A0 -B0 -C0 -D0 . We estimate a 50° dip angle for the St. Mary Fault (SMF) based on the
angular relationship between the locations of the 0° tilt-angle (at basement surface) and the surface fault ruptures.
Since possible coseismic surface ruptures along the Kaporo Fault (KPF) are buried beneath the lake, we infer the same dip
angle as the SMF. The selection of the 0° tilt-angle crossing on the western flanks of each of the RTP-TMI anomalies is based
on independent fault dip direction from DInSAR (Biggs et al., 2010; Hamiel et al., 2012), and geometry of the RTP-TMI
gradient itself.

6. Discussion
6.1. Relationship Between Surface Rupture Locations and Magnetic Lineaments
The mapped surface rupture locations from the 2009 Karonga earthquake align along the edge of the distinct
~37 km long, 148°–162° striking SMF magnetic lineament in the basement that is apparent on both the pre-
earthquake (1984–1985 data) and postearthquake (2013 data) aeromagnetic maps (black arrows on
Figures S1a and S1b and S3a and S3b). This demonstrates that the SMF is imaged prior to the 2009 earth-
quake sequences, indicating that the SMF predates the earthquake. Therefore, we suggest that the 2009
Karonga earthquake was associated with the reactivation of a preexisting buried basement-rooted fault that
we mapped as the SMF (Figures 4 and 7a and 7b). The RTP-TMI anomaly over the SMF and KPF is typical of
buried basement-rooted normal faults in areas where the crystalline basement is the dominant magnetic
source (Grauch & Hudson, 2007, 2011), such that the magnetic anomaly is steepest in the direction of fault
dip. The RTP-TMI anomalies over the faults are steeper to the west than to the east (Figures 8b and 9b), sug-
gesting a west dip for the faults and is consistent with DInSAR analyses of the earthquake (Biggs et al., 2010;
Hamiel et al., 2012). This dip direction indicates the faults are synthetic to the Livingstone border Fault.

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Figure 9. (a) Surface elevation, (b) reduced-to-the-pole total magnetic intensity (RTP-TMI) and tilt-angle derivative (RTP
Tilt), and (c) depth to magnetic basement, along cross-section E0 -F0 (see Figure 7a for location). (d) Aeromagnetic
geological cross section along section E0 -F0 . We infer a 50° dip angle for the St. Mary Fault (SMF) and Kaporo Fault (KPF)
based on results in Figure 8d. The selection of the 0° tilt-angle crossing on the western flanks of each of the RTP-TMI
anomalies is based on independent fault dip direction from DInSAR (Biggs et al., 2010; Hamiel et al., 2012), and geometry of
the RTP-TMI gradient.

Figures S2b shows along-strike changes in the geometry of the fault-related magnetic lineaments (i.e.,
change in strike direction), and Figure 6 shows “across-strike” variation in the trend of the lineaments (i.e.,
side-stepping characteristics). On Figure 6, we illustrate the trace of the fault segments along the edges of
each distinct segment. We observe that the segmentation of the magnetic lineament corresponding to the
SMF is such that the middle segment of the lineament has a distinct right-stepping ~1 km wide relay ramp
across which the coseismic surface ruptures also show along-strike right-stepping pattern (Zone-2 in
Figure 6). Previous studies (e.g., Cartwright et al., 1995; Fossen, 2010) have shown that fault growth and pro-
pagation involve an initial nucleation of isolated fault segments, followed by overlapping of segments sepa-
rated by relay ramps, and eventual bridging of relay ramps to allow the geometrical linkage and coalescence
of the fault segments. Zone-1 of Figure 6 shows that the southern segment of the SMF (south of the town of
Karonga) consists of coalesced right-stepping fault segments. However, north of the town of Karonga, the
fault is characterized by overlapping segments separated by a relay ramp along which the earthquake surface
ruptures align (Zone-2 in Figure 6). Farther north, the SMF is characterized by weakly resolved, subtle NW
aeromagnetic trends (dotted lines in Zone-3 of Figure 6), not corresponding to specific faults, in contrast
to the southern segments where fault-related features are well resolved (solid lines in Zones-1 and 2).
Therefore, in the poorly resolved northern segments, we rely on fault interpretation from Dy of the vertical
derivative (Figure S2b). The black arrows in Figure S2b along the northern segment of SMF suggest that

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 Tectonics 10.1002/2017TC004628

this part of the fault is characterized by en échelon right-stepping segments with wider relay ramps. The pro-
pagation of the earthquake surface ruptures along overlapping fault segments and across the intervening
relay ramp north of Karonga (Zone-2 of Figure 6) indicates that the rupture of the 2009 Karonga earthquake
is associated with active deformation of the relay ramp that might ultimately lead to coalescence of fault seg-
ments along the SMF. Also, we interpret that the amplitude of the magnetic anomaly representing the SMF is
significantly lower in the north (Zone-3) than in the south (zone-1) (Figures S2a and S2b and S3 and S6) pos-
sibly due to the dominance of unlinked fault segments and shallower basement depths (and lower fault dips
or lower vertical fault throws?) in the north relative to the middle and southern segments of the fault
(Figures 8d and 9d). This may also explain the poor resolution of fault segmentation in Zone-3 of Figure 6.
In addition, coalesced nature of fault segments in the southern part of the SMF and the presence of relay
ramps between segments in the central part of the fault and even wider relay ramps between segments in
the northern portion of the fault may indicate that the 2009 earthquake event was associated with an overall
northward growth of the southern segment of the fault.
We have also identified other NW, N-S, and NNW-striking faults beneath the onshore area of Lake Malawi,
such as KPL, KTF, and LF extending from the town of Kaporo in the north to the town of Chilumba to the
south (Figure 7b). Unpublished hypocentral relocation of the 2009 Karonga earthquake events confirms
ruptures along the SMF and the KPF (James B. Gaherty, 2017, personal communication). We highlight
these faults as additional buried basement-rooted faults, which bound asymmetrical grabens and half-
grabens. We also observe that these buried faults are synthetic to the Livingstone Fault (i.e., west dipping),
except the LF that dips eastward and appear to be a southward continuation of the Karonga Fault. The
westward dips of most of these faults are consistent with the dip direction of majority of the hanging wall
faults interpreted in previous seismic studies within the North Basin (Mortimer et al., 2007; Scholz & Finney,
1994; Specht & Rosendahl, 1989). We observe that the basement top is located at deeper depths at the
hanging wall of the KPF compared to that of the SMF, thus suggesting that the KPF may have accommo-
dated more displacement than other buried faults in the Karonga area (Figure 8d and 9d). This fault has a
segmentation pattern similar to the SMF where NW striking segments seem to overlap to form a NNW-SSE
striking fault (Figure 6).

6.2. Relationship Between Basement Structures and the Mughese Shear Zone (MSZ) Fabric
The strike of the SMF changes from NNW in the south to N-S to the north (black arrow in Figure S1b
points to the location of strike deflection). On the other hand, the strike of the MSZ-related magnetic linea-
ments changes from NW in the north to NNW in the southeast (Figures 5a and 5b). This gives an apparent
impression that only the southern half of the SMF aligns with the NNW striking segment of the MSZ, while
its northern half cuts across the trend of the MSZ. However, detailed delineation of the orientation of seg-
ments of the SMF reveals that its northern half is made-up of several short en échelon NW-NNW striking
fault segments (black arrows in Figures S2b). We observe that the strike of one of these short en échelon
segments is consistent with the nodal planes on the fault plane solution of one of the seismic events
(southernmost fault plane solution in Figures S2b and 5c) associated with the 2014 Mw 5.1 Karonga earth-
quake sequence (Oliva et al., 2016). The nodal plane also lines up with the strike of MSZ fabric just north-
west of the epicenter. The strike-slip fault plane solution in the north is possibly associated with slip on a
transfer fault that links two normal faults (Oliva et al., 2016). The southern half of the SMF, however, is
made up of longer en échelon NNW-striking segments that appear to align along NNW trending fabric
of the MSZ (Figures 5b and 5c and S3b). The southern segments of the SMF show coalescence, while
its northern segments might eventually coalesce to form a more penetrative north trending fault. The coa-
lescence of fault segments that originally reactivated the MSZ basement fabric results in an overall fault
geometry that appears to cut obliquely across the MSZ basement fabric. Based on the enhanced trend
of the MSZ-related lineaments underlying the sedimentary cover (Figures 5b and 5c), and interpreted
the map-view geometry of the buried KPF and SMF faults (Figures S2b and S2d and 6), we interpret an
alignment of segments of the faults with the southeast continuation of the MSZ basement fabric
(Figure 10). The trend of the MSZ switches from NW strike in the northwest to a NNW strike in the
Karonga area and back to a NW strike in the southeast between the towns of Karonga and Chilumba
(white lines in Figure 10). This indicates a subtle right-stepping bend of the MSZ. The trend of the mag-
netic anomalies manifesting the southwestern boundary of the shear zone also suggests this geometry

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 Tectonics 10.1002/2017TC004628

(white arrows in Figures S1a and S1b). It is not surprising that north of
the town of Karonga, the MSZ fabric is subtly imaged in the high-
resolution aeromagnetic data as the fault offsets are probably not
large (Figure 9) and within magnetic basement in contrast to the more
rift parallel southern segments of the SMF and KPF, which have
accommodated larger offset in the magnetic basement and magnetite
poor sedimentary rocks (Figure 8). Therefore, the alignment of seg-
ments of the SMF, KPF, KTF, LF, and MF with the MSZ fabric suggests
that these faults exploited the basement fabric. Farther south of the
town of Karonga, the reactivation of the southeastern segment of
the MSZ is shown by the alignment of magnetic lineaments with the
MF, which crops out at the town of Karonga and bounds the Mbiri
Hill in the west (Figures 4 and 10). Although the presence of Permo-
Triassic sedimentary rocks along the scarp of the KF suggests that
the fault is related to Karoo rifting (Figure 3a), we suggest that a better
understanding of the syntectonic stress-field may provide insight into
the mechanics of propagation of the fault across the fabric of the MSZ.
Studies (e.g., Bell, 1996; Morley, 2010; Zang & Stephansson, 2010) have
shown that geomechanical property contrasts can cause local reorienta-
tion of stresses (herein referred to as stress rotations), such that where
the discontinuity is relatively weak the maximum principal stress and
maximum horizontal stress (SHmax) directions will deflect subparallel to
the discontinuity. Where the material is relatively strong (stiff), the max-
imum principal stress and SHmax will deflect subperpendicular to the dis-
continuity. Morley (2010) demonstrated that basement domains with
well-defined metamorphic foliation and mylonitic fabric are zones
Figure 10. First vertical derivative of the 2013 aeromagnetic data of the where stress rotations can occur. In northern Malawi, although it is sug-
Karonga area showing the superposition of buried normal faults (black
solid lines with fault labels) on the interpreted trends of the Mughese Shear
gested that the direction of regional extension has changed over time
Zone (MSZ) fabric (white solid lines). The white arrows indicate present-day (e.g., Mortimer et al., 2007; Ring, 1994), the E-W present-day extension
extension direction. KPF = Kaporo Fault, KTF = Katesula Fault, LF = Lupaso direction (Saria et al., 2014) is suborthogonal to the overall trend of
Fault, SMF = St. Mary Fault, and MF = Mbiri Fault. the SMF (white arrows in Figure 10). Therefore, we suggest that the obli-
quity of the SMF with respect to MSZ basement fabric is effectively con-
trolled by local stress rotations from the regional E-W extension direction into a plane that is suborthogonal
to the trend of the MSZ fabric. Thus, the stress rotation is locally resolved as normal displacement reactivating
obliquely oriented basement fabric.
Previously published DInSAR models of the 2009 Karonga earthquake (Biggs et al., 2010; Hamiel et al., 2012)
and our modeling of depth-to-magnetic-source (crystalline basement) from high-resolution aeromagnetic
data (Figure 8d) reveal a 37°–50° SW dip angle for the ruptured faults (SMF and other faults along the half-
graben hinge zone). Although we observe that the faults follow basement fabric along-strike, the estimated
dip angles of the faults are shallower than the relatively steeper subvertical dip angles (60°–85°) of the MSZ
basement fabric (Figures 3b and 3c; Ring, 1993). Several studies have reported the development of younger
faults parallel to the strike of basement fabric, which cut this fabric obliquely downdip (e.g., Morley, 1995;
Morley, 2010; Ring et al., 2005). Morley (2010) observed low-angle (20°–30°) normal faults reactivating along
basement foliation within the Rukwa Rift and attributed the fault development to stress rotations, such that
the dip angle defining the least cohesive shear strength for the propagation of the normal faults was 30°
away from the rotated maximum principal stress (dip of the foliation). We suggest that the reactivation of
the MSZ basement fabric into normal faults that follow the fabric along strike but develop into a lower-angle
fault downdip can be explained by the stress-rotation model of Morley (2010). According to this model, the
normal fault that subsequently develops from reactivation by stress rotations will appear to obliquely cut
foliation downdip with at angular difference of ~30°. Based on this model, the 60°–85° dips of the MSZ base-
ment fabric in the Karonga area should reactivate into normal faults with ~30°–55° dip angles, thus explaining
the relatively shallow 37°–50° dip angle of the buried basement faults in Karonga area as compared to the
steeper dip angles of the MSZ basement fabric.

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 Tectonics 10.1002/2017TC004628

Figure 11. (a) First vertical derivative of the reduced-to-pole (RTP) aeromagnetic map of Karonga area overlaid on 742 (red-
green-blue) Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) image (draped onto digital elevation model) showing the location of the
epicenters of earthquakes associated with the 2009 Karonga earthquake swarm (white dots). The ellipse defined by dashed
white line defines the area with the greatest clustering of earthquake epicenters. The yellow stars (around Mwenitete)
represent the epicenters of the Mw 5.1 2014 Karonga earthquake sequence reported by Oliva et al. (2016) (also shown in
Figure S2b). (b) Cross section along baseline X-Y-Z shown in Figure 11a across the North Basin (modified after Biggs et al.,
2010), showing major faults and the projection of earthquake epicenters (white circles) to the profile line. We modify
this previously published cross section based on basement depths in Figure 9d; fault dips are from this study, Mortimer
et al. (2007), and Wheeler and Karson (1989). The projected earthquake epicenters (associated with the 2009 Karonga
earthquake swarm) cluster on the hinge zone of the North Basin half-graben.

6.3. Half-Graben Hinge Zone Deformation

Figures 11a and 11b show the spatial distribution of the earthquake epicenters associated with the 2009
Karonga seismic event. This distribution shows that the majority of the earthquakes cluster in the region
bounded by the KPF in the east, the KF to the west, and the area just west of the LF where the MSZ

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 Tectonics 10.1002/2017TC004628

Figure 12. 742 (red-green-blue) Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) image draped onto Shuttle Radar Topography Mission
(SRTM) digital elevation model (DEM) of the North Basin. The red lines represent newly identified faults (from aeromag-
netic data) along the hinge zone of the basin; the yellow lines represent faults interpreted from seismic data (from Mortimer
et al., 2007); the black lines represent faults observable on SRTM (reported in previously published maps, e.g., Figure 3a) and
aeromagnetic maps. KF = Karonga Fault, KPF = Kaporo Fault, KTF = Katesula Fault, LF = Lupaso Fault, MF = Mbiri Fault,
SMF = St. Mary Fault.

outcrops (area bounded by the dashed white ellipse in Figure 11a). We suggest that although most of the
Mw ≥ 4.9 events as well as significant ground displacement during the 2009 earthquake swarm were
localized along the SMF, the other identified buried basement faults underlying the Karonga area (KPF,
KTF, LF, and MF) might have also accommodated some of the deformation. In addition, the spatial
distribution of epicenters with respect to the entire North Basin of the Malawi Rift suggests that active defor-
mation associated with the 2009 seismic events is localized within the half-graben hinge zone (Figure 11b)
and not distributed across the entire hanging wall as suggested by Biggs et al. (2010). The location of seismic
events west of the east dipping KF (Figures 11a and 11b) may suggest that the planes of the SMF and KPF

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 Tectonics 10.1002/2017TC004628

(west dipping) undercut the KF downdip, thereby highlighting the need to better understand the subsurface
interaction of the faults along the half-graben hinge zone.
Models proposed for the development of half-graben rift basins generally assume that the hinge zones of
half-grabens are mainly flexural margins with brittle deformations that develop passively in response to pro-
gressive displacement along the border fault (e.g., Groshong, 1989; Rosendahl et al., 1986; Schlische, 1991;
Seyitoglu et al., 2002). We alternatively suggest that the localization of upper crustal strain and seismicity
on the half-graben hinge zone of the North Basin in the weakly extended, magma-poor Malawi Rift is not
entirely driven by a passive crustal flexure of the border fault hanging wall but is being facilitated by the
presence of favorably oriented basement fabric. We further suggest that the influence of the MSZ on the
large-scale structural architecture of the North Basin may be most evident in the relatively lower dip angles
of the hinge zone faults (<50°) compared to that of the intrabasin faults and border fault (55°–60°; Mortimer
et al., 2007; Wheeler & Karson, 1989) (Figure 11b).

6.4. Implications for Earthquake Hazards

Our study shows that the surface ruptures occurred mostly along the central part of the SMF with a total
length of 16.4 km, covering half the length of the 37 km long fault (Figures S3 and S6). We point to the
high potential for frequent brittle failure along the unruptured, soft-linked, en échelon northern segments
of the SMF between the towns of Karonga and Kaporo in the future (Zone-3 in Figure 6). The presence of
longer fault segments on the southern part of the SMF (Zone-1 in Figure 6) relative to its northern seg-
ments (Zone-3 in Figure 6) suggests that the southern segment of the SMF is capable of bigger earth-
quakes if it were to rupture. The fact that the southern segment has not ruptured recently may indicate
that it is a seismic gap with potential of future rupture. Following standard scaling magnitude-length rela-
tionship (e.g., Field et al., 2003; Wells & Coppersmith, 1994), an earthquake of Mw 6.4 ± 0.34 (mean mag-
nitude) could occur if this entire “seismic gap” was to rupture in a single event. Overall, due to the
presence of en échelon segmentation of the SMF in the north than in the south, we predict a relatively
higher probability for frequent seismic activities in the northern part of Karonga area than in the south.
This prediction is supported by the Mw 5.1 2014 Karonga earthquake sequence reported by Oliva et al.
(2016). The epicenters of this earthquake event were located ~3 km west and 5 km SW of the town
Mwenitete (yellow stars in Figure 11a); however, hypocentral depths of 5–10 km suggest that the rupture
possibly occurred downdip of the SMF and/or KPF. We also raise the possibility that the extents of the KPF,
KTF, LF, and MF present favorable sites for future brittle rupture leading to seismic activities along the half-
graben hinge zone. We present an updated fault map of the North Basin, showing the possible seismo-
genic faults along the half-graben hinge zone (Figure 12). We observe that the faults interpreted from
aeromagnetic data in this study (red lines in Figure 12) compare very well with the fault lines reported
from previously published seismic interpretations of the North Basin (yellow lines in Figure 12)
(Mortimer et al., 2007; Scholz & Finney, 1994; Specht & Rosendahl, 1989).

7. Conclusions
We documented for the first time, the presence of seismogenic buried basement faults along the half-graben
hinge zone that could potentially be sites of future brittle rupture that will trigger earthquakes. From the ana-
lysis of preearthquake and postearthquake aeromagnetic data and field observation, we delineated the
along-strike geometry and dip angle of the SMF that ruptured during the 2009 Karonga earthquake. We also
identified other potential seismogenic buried faults in the area and showed that the recent seismicity along
the ruptured SMF is associated with overall northward development of the SMF, and geometrical linkage and
coalescing of initially overlapped segments. In addition, we suggest the reactivation of subvertical basement
fabric along the North Basin half-graben hinge zone by stress rotation. Fault geometries, basement fabric
analyses, and spatial distribution of recent seismicity in the magma-poor, weakly extended northern
Malawi Rift suggest that focusing of upper crustal deformation leading to moderate-magnitude seismicity
along the half-graben hinge zone may not be entirely driven by crustal flexure but may also be facilitated
and modulated by the MSZ basement fabric. Careful analysis of aeromagnetic data can play an important role
in delineating causative faults associated with damaging seismic events and can therefore help earthquake
mitigation efforts.

KOLAWOLE ET AL. 19
 Tectonics
Acknowledgments
This work was partially supported by the
National Science Foundation (NSF)
grant 1358150 (awarded to D. A.
Laó-Dávila and E.A. Atekwana) and
grant 1009988 (awarded to E. A.
Atekwana). We thank the Geological
Survey Department of Malawi for
allowing us to purchase the 2013 aero-
magnetic data used in this study. We
have archived the 2013 aeromagnetic
data for the Karonga area at the
GeoPRISMS data portal (DOI: 10.1594/
IEDA/324314). We thank the Council for
Geosciences, South Africa for providing
the old (1984/1985) aeromagnetic data
used in this study. We have also
archived the 1985 aeromagnetic data
for the Karonga area at the GeoPRISMS
data portal (DOI: 10.1594/IEDA/324312).
The Council for Geosciences, South
Africa, can be reached through
info@geoscience.org.za. We also thank
two anonymous reviewers for detailed
and constructive reviews. This is the
Oklahoma State University Boone
Pickens School of Geology contribution
2018-80.
KOLAWOLE ET AL.
10.1002/2017TC004628
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KOLAWOLE ET AL. 22
 [Tectonics]

Supporting Information for

[Active deformation of Malawi Rift’s North Basin hinge zone modulated by

reactivation of pre-existing Precambrian shear zone fabric]

[F. Kolawole1*, E. A. Atekwana1**, D. A. Laó-Dávila1, M. G. Abdelsalam1, P. R. Chindandali2,

J. Salima2, and L. Kalindekafe3]

[1Oklahoma State University Main Campus, Stillwater, OK 74078, United States

2Geological Survey Department of Malawi, P.O. Box 27, Zomba, Malawi
3Malawi University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 5196, Limbe, Malawi. *now at the ConocoPhillips

School of Geology and Geophysics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, United States
**now at the College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, United States]

Contents of this file

Text S1
Figures S1 to S3

Additional Supporting Information (Files uploaded separately)

Caption for Dataset S1

Caption for Dataset S2
Caption for Dataset S3
Caption for Dataset S4
Caption for Dataset S5
Caption for Dataset S6
Caption for Dataset S7
Caption for Dataset S8
Caption for Dataset S9
Caption for Dataset S10
Caption for Dataset S11

1
Introduction

The supporting information below include a summary of the processing techniques

applied to the aeromagnetic data covering the study area- the Karonga area of Malawi
Rift’s North Basin. Two aeromagnetic datasets were included in this study. The first one
was acquired by Malawi Geological Survey in 1984/1985 (pre- 2009 Karonga earthquake),
and the second one was acquired by the geological survey in 2013 (post- 2009 Karonga
earthquake).

Text S1.

The ‘.kmz’ files uploaded here covers the Malawi Rift North Basin and contains fault maps
and filtered aeromagnetic maps. The maps presented in the .kmz files were prepared in
the course of this study. We digitized the ‘previously published faults’ shown in Dataset 7
from Mortimer et al. [2007] and Biggs et al. [2010]. We produced the filtered aeromagnetic
maps using Oasis montaj software. Before the filters were applied, the 1984/85 (Dataset
S3) and 2013 (Dataset S4) total magnetic intensity data were first reduced to the magnetic
pole (RTP) [Baranov, 1957; Arkani-Hamed, 1988] in order to remove the skewness of the
anomalies and correctly position magnetic anomalies directly over their sources.
Directional derivative filters (horizontal derivative in the x-direction (Dx), horizontal
derivative in the y-direction (Dy), vertical derivative (Dz) and tilt-angle derivative) were
applied to the RTP magnetic data in order to enhance magnetic gradients (edges) and
highlight structural features [Ma et al., 2012]. According to Miller and Singh [1994] and
Salem et al. [2007], Dz, total horizontal derivative (combination of Dx and Dy) and the tilt-
angle derivative of the RTP aeromagnetic grid enhances the magnetic signatures of
shallow crustal structures.

2
Figure S1. (a) First vertical derivative of the reduced to the pole (RTP) 1985 pre-earthquake
aeromagnetic data of the Karonga area. (b) First vertical derivative of the RTP 2013 post-
earthquake aeromagnetic data of Karonga area, upward continued to 120 m (same flight
height as the 1985 map). Both aeromagnetic images show prominent magnetic lineament
(black arrow) within the coastal plains of Lake Malawi. White arrows point to the magnetic
expression of the southwestern boundary of the Mughese Shear Zone (MSZ).

3
Figure S2. (a) A map of the Reduced-to-the-pole Total Magnetic Intensity (RTP-TMI) grid
of Karonga area. (b) Horizontal-Y derivative (Dy) of the RTP-TMI grid. Fault plane solutions
represent the December 2014 Mw 5.1 Karonga earthquake sequence [Oliva et al., 2016].
Black dotted lines show orientation of en échelon segments on the northern segment of
the SMF. (c) Vertical derivative (Dz) of the RTP-TMI grid. (d) Tilt-angle derivative of the
RTP-TMI grid overlaid with 0° tilt-angle contour (solid black line). Black circles represent
coseismic surface rupture locations. Black arrows point to orientation of en échelon
segments on the northern segment of the SMF. LF = Lupaso Fault, KPF = Kaporo Fault, KF

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= Karonga Fault, KTF = Katesula Fault, MSZ = Mughese Shear Zone, and SMF = St. Mary
Fault.

Figure S3. Correlation between the Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) fault
model from Biggs et al. [2010] and Hamiel et al. [2012] (yellow line), mapped locations of
the earthquake surface ruptures (white circles), and the prominent NNW- striking
magnetic lineament representing the basement fabric in the Karonga area from (a) the
1984-1985 pre-earthquake, and (b) the 2013 post-earthquake aeromagnetic data (upward
continued to 120 m). The two aeromagnetic maps are first vertical derivatives (Dz) of
reduced to pole (RTP) grids of the two aeromagnetic grid vintages. LF = Lupaso Fault, KPF
= Kaporo Fault, KF = Karonga Fault, KTF = Katesula Fault, MSZ = Mughese Shear Zone,
and SMF = St. Mary Fault.

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Data Set S1. .kmz file showing newly identified faults (from aeromagnetic data in this
study) along the hinge zone of the Malawi Rift North Basin (black lines) and previously
reported faults within the basin (e.g. Figure 3a).

Data Set S2. .kmz file showing coseismic surface ruptures for the 2009 Karonga
earthquake [from Hamiel et al., 2012; Macheyeki et al., 2015].

Data Set S3. .kmz file showing first vertical derivative (Dz) of the RTP grid of the 1984/85
aeromagnetic map of the North Basin hinge zone.

Data Set S4. .kmz file showing first vertical derivative (Dz) of the RTP grid of the 2013
aeromagnetic map of the North Basin hinge zone.

Data Set S5. .kmz file showing tilt derivative of the RTP grid of the 2013 aeromagnetic
map of the North Basin hinge zone.

Data Set S6. .kmz file showing contour of the tilt derivative of the RTP grid of the 2013
aeromagnetic map covering Karonga area.

Data Set S7. .kmz file showing contour of the horizontal gradient (HG) of the RTP grid of
the 2013 aeromagnetic map covering Karonga area.

Data Set S8. .kmz file showing horizontal-y derivative of the tilt derivative of the RTP
grid of the 2013 aeromagnetic map covering Karonga area.

Data Set S9. .kmz file showing horizontal-x derivative of the tilt derivative of the RTP
grid of the 2013 aeromagnetic map covering Karonga area.

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Data Set S10. .kmz file showing 45° horizontal directional gradient (HDG) of the tilt
derivative of the RTP grid of the 2013 aeromagnetic map covering Karonga area.

Data Set S11. .kmz file showing depth to basement map of Karonga area calculated
using the Source Parameter Imaging (SPI) technique.